Madison Keys crashed out of Wimbledon 2018 with an astonishing 7-5 5-7 6-4 loss to World No.120 Evgeniya Rodina in the third round.
Many believe the American, 23, will win the grass court Grand Slam one day. She began her campaign this year with emphatic victories over Alja Tomljanovic and Luksika Kumkhum. However, it all fell apart for the World No.11 today.
Keys started the match superbly. She produced three virtually flawless service games and broke Rodina to love in the fourth game to race into a 4-1 lead.
Three games later, the American had the chance to serve for the opening set at 5-3. It seemed routine as she went 30-15 up, but that was the moment when everything changed.
Keys played a couple of sloppy points to gift Rodina a break point and the Russian grabbed the opportunity with a precise backhand winner down the line.
That was surprising enough. But what followed it was astonishing. Rodina won the next three games to take the first set as the World No.11 made a host of unforced errors.
Keys battles back from the brink
The World No.120 then won the first four games of the second set as Keys continued to hit the ball everywhere except into the court.
However, the drama was far from over. When the American was staring an embarrassing exit in the face, she found her form again.
First, she saved four break points during a marathon game to stop Rodina’s run of nine consecutive games. Then she hit a series of delightful winners to break the Russian twice and level the set at 4-4.
It was extraordinary to watch, and Keys’ resurgence did not end there. She held serve twice to move into a 6-5 lead, then put pressure on Rodina’s serve until the right chance presented itself.
The Russian made an error at deuce on her serve to gift the American a set point and Keys pounced. She saw a gap down the line and guided a precise backhand into the space for a winner.
Rodina wins dramatic decider
The twists continued in the decider. Rodina battled her way to a break in a long third game to open up a 3-1 lead.
Keys broke back in the sixth game. She produced a succession of excellent returns to earn a break point. Then she hit a trademark forehand winner to seal it.
Next, the players traded breaks. The Russian stepped into the court and hit a couple of brilliant groundstrokes to go 4-3 up. Then the American unleashed a succession of huge strikes to hit back straight away.
But the fightback from Keys soon became irrelevant. Rodina played superbly on the key points in the last two games of the match to break and then hold for a remarkable victory.
